VOA常速英语2007年-Argentina, Venezuela Criticize US Over 'Spy' Ar

By Brian Wagner
Miami
13 December 2007

U.S. prosecutors¹ have announced the arrests of four men linked to a scandal involving an alleged² campaign payment from Venezuela to Argentina. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the governments of the South American nations have denounced the U.S. probe as a political attack by Washington.

Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday the arrests of three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan man accused of acting³ as undeclared agents of the Caracas government. U.S. authorities say the men came to Miami to pressure another man, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, to conceal⁴ the fact that the money for a Venezuelan political campaign donation came from Venezuela's state oil company.

Antonini, who has American and Venezuelan citizenship⁵, has been at the center of the scandal since he was caught in Argentina in August with a briefcase⁶ containing $800,000 in cash. He arrived in Miami shortly after the incident, and Argentina has asked for his extradition⁷ as part of an investigation⁸ into the money.

U.S. prosecutors say conversations between Antonini and some of the four men revealed that the money was intended for the presidential campaign of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Ms. Kirchner took over the presidency⁹ earlier this week, succeeding her husband, Nestor Kirchner.

In Buenos Aires, she denounced the accusations¹⁰ as an attempt to damage her new presidency.

President Kirchner said the attacks against her will fail, and that she may be a woman, but she will not allow others to pressure her.

She also vowed¹¹ to maintain close ties with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of U.S. policy in the region.

In Caracas, Venezuela's foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, said the U.S. probe is an attempt to damage relations between Venezuela and its Latin American partners.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack rejected allegations the operation was anything more than a criminal investigation.

"This is not an issue of U.S.-Argentine relations," said Sean McCormack. "This is a matter of U.S. law enforcement enforcing U.S. laws on U.S. soil."

The four men arrested in Miami face a fine and up to 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of acting as undeclared foreign agents.

Officials say they are looking for a fifth suspect in the case.

U.S. authorities have filed no charges against Antonini, whose attorney says he was unaware¹² of the money in his luggage.

1 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

6 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

7 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

12 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。